A young boy feels compelled to conquer the mountain that caused his father's death

- Mountaineering; Fiction.

Sixteen year old Rudi Matt has one all-consuming dream: to climb The Citadel, the mountain that people in his village consider unclimbable, the mountain his father died trying to climb. His mother and uncle have forbidden him to try, but that has not dampened Rudi's desire to climb the mountain. When Captain John Winter comes to town with a similar goal, Rudi sees his opportunity. What will he sacrifice to obtain his goal? Will it be enough?

Whether or not you are a mountaineer, Banner in the Sky makes exciting reading. It is an adventure, a coming of age story, and the story of someone with determination and a dream. Until he singlehandedly saves Captain John Winter's life, no one in his village recognizes Rudi's potential. He is derisively called "Angel Face" by other boys in the village because of his fair skin and rosy cheeks which - try as he might - never seem to grow weathered and tan like the other boys'. Yet, despite their teasing, Rudi is determined to climb The Citadel and to become an alpine guide like his father. Rudi gets his break when Captain Winter convinces his uncle to allow him to accompany the team in their attempt to be the first to climb The Citadel. It is during the ascent that Rudi must resolve a crucial conflict between his ambition and what he knows is right. The heart-stopping description of climbing this treacherous mountain in combination with Ullman's skillful development of the characters on the team and the moral dilemma that ultimately confronts Rudi bring this exxciting book to a page-turning conclusion. In the end it is a story about loyalty, making choices, being a leader and being wise enough to know when to stop and when to press on.

1. An Author's Note in the beginning of the book states that Banner In The Sky is loosely based on the true story of the first climbing of the Matterhorn. Find out what happened during that expedition. Like Rudi's climb, the first ascent of the Matterhorn was successful in some ways, but not in others. How was Rudi's climb successful? How was it unsuccessful? How was the first climb of the Matterhorn successful? Unsuccessful?

1. Mountain climbing: High Adventure by Sir Edmund Hillary, the account of the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953; Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, the story of the disastrous attempt to climb Mt. Everest in 1996.

Banner In The Sky is a Newbery Honor Book from 1955. James Ramsey Ullman was a member of the first American Team to attempt to climb Mount Everest. He is an accomplished mountaineer who often writes about climbing.